Sample W2 Proposal
Motion: To designate Eng 218, Viking Myths and Legends, a W2 course.
Rationale: The course fulfills the requisite "LA" objectives as listed below.
- W2 builds upon W1 courses, but also introduces students to research methods and writing within specific disciplines.
Eng 218 introduces students to research methods and writing primarily in the discipline of literary studies and secondarily in the interdisciplinary field of medieval studies. - Introduces students on how to formulate questions within a specific discipline, to formulate a methodology for addressing those questions, and to evaluate and employ evidence for advancing their conclusions in writing.
As mentioned above, Eng 218 introduces students to writing papers in literature and medieval studies. The latter field encompasses elements of comparative mythology, history, archaeology, religion, and other fields. In addition to practicing the formalist method of literary analysis known as "close reading" or "explication," students are also introduced to the theories of seminal scholars of comparative mythology such as Jacob Grimm, Carl Jung, Georges Dumézil, and Mircea Eliade, one of whose theories they must apply in analyzing a work we read in class. - Contains 12 pages or more of writing in final draft form. Written work may take the form of multiple assignments spaced over the course of the term, or a single culminating paper that reflects various stages of learning within the course.
The course requires two papers, a 4-5 page essay applying the concepts of a particular school of comparative mythology to a work we read in class (e.g., The Saga of the Völsungs) and an 8-10 page paper in which students examine how a post-medieval author whom we did not read in class (e.g., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Morris, J. R. R. Tolkien, or Neil Gaiman) make use of Norse mythology in their work. - Requires at least one research paper or other extensive essay in which students must manage sources/data.
Both of the papers mentioned previously require research. In the first essay, students must research a theorist of myth as well as the particular text being analyzed; at least three scholarly sources - not counting ones read in class - are required. The second paper is a research paper requiring at least six outside scholarly sources. - Derives at least 35% of the course grade from papers.
50% of the course grade comes from these two papers (20% for the 4-5 page essay, 30% for the 8-10 page essay).